TURBULENT

Passengers Sent Flying Into Cabin Ceiling on Horror Flight

The plane’s ceiling was left with cracks from the impact of the smashed heads.

At least 12 people were injured after an Air India flight hit severe turbulence on Tuesday, sending passengers flying into the cabin ceiling. The Airbus A320, operating as Flight A12379, was traveling from Phuket, Thailand, to Delhi when it plummeted 300 feet mid-air about 90 minutes into the flight. Air India said the aircraft experienced a sudden change in altitude while flying before the crew regained control. The plane was carrying 134 people. Passengers who were not wearing seatbelts were thrown from their seats. Videos from inside the cabin showed cracks in the ceiling from the impact of passengers’ heads and a broken overhead bin. The flight landed safely at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at around 11 a.m. local time, where ambulances and emergency crews were waiting. Injured passengers and crew members were taken to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram for treatment. One patient is believed to have suffered a spinal fracture, though the airline said no life-threatening injuries had been reported. The scare comes less than two months after Air India’s deadly Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash near Ahmedabad, which killed 260 people, including 19 on the ground. There was one sole survivor. A preliminary investigation found the aircraft’s engine fuel switches had been moved to the “cutoff” position shortly after takeoff, causing both engines to lose power. A complete investigation into the nature of the crash is still taking place.